FS: Zenith DVB318 upconverting DVD player
polksda
Posts: 716
I had a Zenith DVB318 that gave up the ghost on me. I sent it in for warranty swap, and didn't hear back from LG Electronics for ages, so I replaced it with another model.
Well, lo and behold, what should show up on my doorstep Friday, but a box from LG electronics. I opened the box expecting to see just the player itself (when you send in the deck for service, they say not to include any cables, remote etc), but the one they sent back has all sealed cables, manuals, remote etc. It appears to be a brand new unit straight out of stock.
Out of the box, it will do upconversion to 720p and 1080i via DVI (DVI cable included). With older firmware that you can find over at AVSForum, it will upconvert to 720p/1080i via component video (which is how I had my unit set up, and it did quite a decent job).
Looking through completed Ebay auctions, these are selling for $175-205 + S&H. I'll sell mine for $150 shipped, PayPal preferred.
Holler if you have any questions...
Well, lo and behold, what should show up on my doorstep Friday, but a box from LG electronics. I opened the box expecting to see just the player itself (when you send in the deck for service, they say not to include any cables, remote etc), but the one they sent back has all sealed cables, manuals, remote etc. It appears to be a brand new unit straight out of stock.
Out of the box, it will do upconversion to 720p and 1080i via DVI (DVI cable included). With older firmware that you can find over at AVSForum, it will upconvert to 720p/1080i via component video (which is how I had my unit set up, and it did quite a decent job).
Looking through completed Ebay auctions, these are selling for $175-205 + S&H. I'll sell mine for $150 shipped, PayPal preferred.
Holler if you have any questions...
Post edited by polksda on
Comments
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How do you load the firmware?
When you say a decent job, does it do good or what? -
Originally posted by amulford
How do you load the firmware?
When you say a decent job, does it do good or what?
Firmware is usually loaded with a CDR that has the file burnt on it.
You should read the Secrets benchmark for this player if you want to know how good the video performance is.
Link -
Originally posted by billbillw
You should read the Secrets benchmark for this player if you want to know how good the video performance is.
Link
The one problem with the Secrets benchmarks is that they are strictly electronic measurements -- no aesthetics or "real world" determinations are made. Some may consider that a good thing. The Secrets benchmarks are one point of reference, but not the holy grail end-all review of DVD players.
Case in point: when the Toshiba V592 DVD/VCR combo came out, Secrets had it as tied for the number one DVD player of all time. I went out and bought one to check it out... and it went back the next day. It had the most awful macroblocking problem I'd ever seen, and overall did NOT have a good picture.
So yes, by all means read the information linked above, but then also read some reviews from elsewhere. There are some monster threads over at AVSForum about it:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=328403&highlight=zenith
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=421473&highlight=zenith
How well it performs for you will depend on what type of output device you use, and whether you use DVI or component output. Also, let's keep in mind that it's a sub-$200 DVD player, not a Denon flagship or anything.... realistic expectations, folks. -
I read the review on AVS. What is YOU'RE opinion. I'm actually interested, but may need some help getting the firmware.
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Polksda,
Your impression of the Secrets Benchmark being strickly electronic measurements is WRONG!
They do a few measurements of brightness levels/output voltages, but most of their tests are visual obsevation of the image. They observe the output of the player to see how well it performs de-interlacing and MPEG2 decoding. If a player passes or fails a given test, its because they observed artifacts, macroblocking, or some other form of output that varies from the reference. These are definetly "real world" determinations. They try to look at the quality of the image objectivly.
However, there are a few reasons that a Secrets Benchmark observation may not be completly up to date. Often they evalulate early production runs. Current models may have updated firmware and/or hardware that affect the output for better or for worse.
I agree that you should always read from as many sources as possible but you also need to realize that many people that review or post on AVS are not professional reviews. They may not ever notice artifacts or CUE errors unless pointed out to them. The Secrets Benchmarks are designed to show you how the players handle some of the most problematic and poorly mastered disks. The average person may not ever view a disk with those mastering errors.
In the end, I always recommend the Secrets Benchmarks as a starting place to quickly see how a player performed. I would then search Ecoustics for editorial reviews and finally search AVS and/or any of the other forums for postings on the player. It all depends on how much time you want to spend researching the subject. -
Originally posted by gmorris
What is "firmware"?
Firmware is the "operating system" for the player. It is written to flash ROM and can sometimes, but not always, be updated to correct for bugs in the players operation.
